Introduction
Many various factors might affect the voters. The political views of a candidate play a significant role in an election campaign, but people make decisions according to their preferences based on personal likes and dislikes. While a particular range of characteristics seems to be universal and should be adopted by all candidates, some unique features of a political leader can influence the choice of voters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the circumstances and personal qualities of a candidate that affect the voting intentions during the elections.
Main body
Strong bonds with common people are the first characteristic that comes to mind when one contemplates the image of a successful political leader. The story of Benjamin Franklin’s literary turning rags to riches greatly influenced the people of the USA. He showed that anyone could start from rock bottom and make a fortune with due effort and commitment. Franklin worked hard at his printing shop and gained a lot, eventually becoming one of the most influential America’s Founding Fathers. Ever since political leaders of all sorts exert much effort to present themselves as self-made people from a common background. Wise implementation of this strategy can create strong bonds with the voters.
Such basic characteristics as age, gender, and race still significantly affect the choice of voters. According to the latest presidential elections in the USA, white middle-aged men vote for the candidate that is akin to them. The marital status can also be crucial for the image of a candidate. People are more likely to believe in a loyal family person. The underlying logic of this situation is simple. The one who can protect, provide, and be faithful to the family will act in the same manner to the voters.
The recent explorations in the field of political marketing showed that a facial similarity between a candidate and a celebrity affects voting intentions (Wood and Shen 221). Even an unknown political leader can swiftly gain popularity among people when they connect his or her image with their favorite celebrities. Therefore, a candidate who can adapt certain features of pop stars to his or her appearance will have better opportunities during the election.
As it has been already said earlier, a person’s previous employment can also influence voting intentions. Benjamin Franklin is not the only one to come into politics from an unusual background. George W. Bush was a managing partner for Texas Rangers — a professional baseball team. This connection to one of the most popular sports in the USA could help him to get support from baseball fans. Rick Perry raised cotton with his father and was Commissioner of Agriculture. His background presented a great opportunity to build connections with manual laborers and farmers. Being a Texas state treasurer, Ann Richards gained popularity for her attempts to maximize the return of state investments. It helped her to become the governor of Texas. The career of an actor prepared Ronald Reagan for public debates and frequent meetings with all kinds of political leaders from over the world.
Conclusion
It is seen, that very many different factors influence the voting intentions during the elections. Such characteristics as age, gender, and race still affect people in their decisions. The marital status of the candidate is also of great importance. The employment background plays a significant role in the creation of a self-made person image that is popular among political leaders and valued by voters. Even a facial similarity with a celebrity can contribute to the popularity of a candidate. All these characteristics should be taken into account during the elections.
Work Cited
Wood, Natalie, and Feng Shen. “Looks Matter: Facial Similarity Between a Candidate and Celebrity Endorser Influences Youth Voting Behaviour.” Journal of Customer Behaviour, vol. 15, no. 3, 2016, pp. 221-237.